The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
Cancellieri's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
